martno1fan

Hi guys ive been looking at this heli for my son for christmas as his first heli does anyone recomend it?.I can get it with 2 lipo batterys and 20 spare blades plus training gear and also a pc simulator cd for a decent price.Any info on how she flies etc would be great thanks.

RedGN

How old is your son?

Druss

pretty good place to start for a kid between 10 and 14, any younger and you'll want to be careful.

martno1fan

hes 11 just how good are these helis ?any info you can give on them would be appreciated thanks.

Druss

I have one myself and they are great for flying indoors, they are co-axial which makes them very stable. Once set up properly you can literally let it hover by itself.

Couple things you may want to upgrade are the landing gear (the stock ones break pretty easy from a hard landing) and the swashplate. The top and bottom halves of the swash are only held together by friction, I had a bad crash once and they seperated, after that they kept seperating so I ended up replacing it with an aluminum swash, much better and even more stable.

Remember too that you can use most of the eflite blade cx (first version not version 2) parts on the lama v4.

Don't try to fly it outside on a windy day either, they are very unstable in the wind.

neweheliflyer

The Lama 4 is good beginners' helicopter, [link=http://www.linknety.com/modevideos/demo/zoom.php?id=50]check how it fly here[/link]

martno1fan

thanks guys it will be flown indoors mainly but we would like to fly outside too so i supose thats weather permitting.is it because of the co-axial thing that they wont fly in a light breeze if so are there better helis for outdoors that would be better suited to a beginner ? preferably with a simulator and a few spares like this one comes with.for £56( $116)we can get the v4 with 20 spare blades 2 lipos and a simulator which seems a good deal,prices in the uk are probably twice that but this one is from hong kong.

martno1fan

Hi out of interest where can you get upgraded parts from for the v4? like the ali swashplate? are there other things to upgrade it .As allways your help is much appreciated.

civichb98

You can also go with the Esky Lama V3

martno1fan

hi mate yes i looked at that one also but he liked the body on the v4 better,i actually bought him one on ebay last nite from hong kong so id just like to say thanks for all the help.One problem is he caught me paying via paypal so the secrets out so looks like he wont be getting a heli for xmas now so he might as well have it now .We got a good deal with 20 spare blades and two lipos instead of one pluss trainer kit and a sim cd and a lead for the radio for the pc.heres the one i got him.
[link]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250182515044&ssPa geName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=015[/link]

ranavalona

That was a very good buy, for UK. You ask about upgrade availability - the seller you bought from seems to have CNC parts, at a good price. Otherwise, Miracle Mart, RC-SpareParts, RC-Fever, are all reliable - and Chinese. Mind you, the only upgraded parts I feel a real need for are the inner shaft, and Xtreme blades. My other mods - sporty canopy, boom tail, etc, are just personal preference.

You realise, of course, that if you give it to him now, by Christmas he'll be "needing" something with collective pitch and full 3D capability!

martno1fan

Thanks mate i agree it was a good price id imagine it would be twice that in the local model shop.Do you have any pics of your mods etc ,guess what i never even looked at the sellers other parts ill be sure to check them out.I think you could be right about him wanting another heli by christmas but if and when he moves onto another i think ill stick with a fixed pitch one like the walkera 4 or similar sound good?.Mind you a mate has just started importing helis i think its the t rexs hes importing but i know theyre for experienced fliers.They look the buisness though .

ranavalona

I think he only does the full set of bling bits, but at a pretty good price.

I'd agree about the next step. Assuming your lad takes to it, the Walkera, maybe the Esky HBFP. In fact, if I'd come onto your post before you said you'd bought the Lama, I'd have suggested skipping the co-axial stage altogether - although others may disagree. A lot depends on his opportunities for flying and on how much support and supervision you're able to give him.

That's a great age to be learning this hobby!

Below, some pics of what will probably be the final incarnation of my V4. It's just about to my liking, now.

Boomtown boom and "indestructible" skids, Xtreme blades and canopy, modified battery mount (using Velcro!), upgraded inner shaft, weights removed from flybar. Love it!

martno1fan

Yea i saw the bits at 14 quid i think,your heli looks great does the boom help it work better outdoors as its more streamlined i guess.Dont worry ill be giving him my full suport in this hobby im allready considering buying a fixed pitch single rotor for us once weve got the hang of the v4.Ive seen a few walkera 4 and honey bees on ebay for the same price as this one and one came with spares just like this one.By the way you must have spent quite a bit on upgrading your v4 i cant wait to start enjoying this hobby i think ill def need to buy my own heli for christmas lol.

ranavalona

Thanks - I'm pleased with it, now. To be honest, the boom is really just for appearance. I don't think it has any real effect on outdoor flight, although some swear it does. Just have to accept that c0-axials are not really very good outside, although uTube has plenty clips of them in the open air.

As for the expense, LOL! Look at your own intentions, m8. This hobby is a MONEY PIT!!! [&o]

Have good flights.

martno1fan

money pit oh no [X(],maybe ill stick to boats .
[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RtYCQIgGcA[/link]

ranavalona

Well impressive!

And still in one piece at the end of the session! You can forget all about that when you start in FP's.

My boating was a bit more dedate.

martno1fan

Ive been building boats for years some full size some rc,ive built sailboats pt boats and as you see fast deep vee gas boats with 260 zenoah petrol motor.Hopefully your wrong about the fp helis but im sure your not .Im sure the v4 will do us for a while yet to get us both into the hobby .

ranavalona

........................dedate....??? sedate!

Typing in the dark!

ranavalona

BTW - that wasn't Southport, was it?

Dunes, and that.............................?

martno1fan

By the way i know York quite well im orriginally from Goole not too far from you and we used to spend our hols on the river there when dad had a boat.Ive lived in blackpool for 11-12 yrs now .

martno1fan

nope that was fleetwood ,we have dunes in blackpool at st annes and also at fleetwood on a smaller scale,that bank is man made the sea isnt far over that .

martno1fan

hi mate ive seen on some threads they say the extreme parts wont fit on the v4 so how did you use those parts ?.which boom did you buy for youres and where from if it isnt the xtreme one cheers.

USHobbySupply

If you can take some pictures of the v4 for me, I can look at the XTREME lama goodies and see if they will match up.

I also have a question pending with my XTREME distributor.

Michael

martno1fan

Hi Michael i dont have the heli yet im still waiting for delivery,i was just asking because id maybe like to upgrade it in the future.Thanks for the offer ill try and take some pics when it arrives,ive seen where some guys change the mainframe to the v3 as it fits the extreme parts maybe that would be an option.That said ive also seen where the blade cx ? bits fit the v4 not sure though.